Export iMessages Chat to PDF from iPhone Backups

iMessages are sometimes important to us, once upon a time, one of our users asked how to download SMS messages and iMessages from iPhone backup which was created with iTunes, and print out the iMessages. Which would be used as evidence on court. From the case we can see that how important it is to download messages from iPhone and export iMessages from iPhone backups, and PDF is the best chosen format. This guide will introduce you how to export iMessages to PDF files using iBackup Viewer step by step.

Download and Install iBackup Viewer

All in all, you need to download and install iBackup Viewer first. Download the installer for macOS or Windows.

Install and Launch iBackup Viewer

When the download completed, double click the installer to install iBackup Viewer.

• For macOS, you can easily drag the icon with label "iBackup Viewer" over the "Applications" icon and drop to finish installation.
• For Windows, the installer will detect your system, and download the corresponding 32 bit or 64 bit package to finish the installation.

Choose the Backup

Once you have iBackup Viewer installed, launch iBackup viewer by double-clicking on the icon. iBackup Viewer will automatically load all backups available in the specified backup location.

(You can change the backup location in Preferences if the backups locate in place different than default location).

Navigate and View iMessages

Click on a backup, and then click on iMessage icon to load messages.  

Download and Save iMessages Chat to PDF

Click the "as PDF" button from the toolbar at the top of the window, and choose "Current Chat".

If the window size is not big enough , click the "Export" icon from the toolbar at the top of the window, and choose "Current Chat to PDF..." or "All Chats to PDF..." from the drop down menu.

PDF Settings

iBackup Viewer will load available fonts on your operating system. Choose your preferred font, and adjust the font size of the header and contents.

Change paper size of the exported pdf file, and margins to modify the layout of the result pdf file. 

You can set the attributes of the result PDF file including title, author, subject, and some keywords for the PDF file. 

Confirm all the settings, then click "Save" to choose a file (for singe thread) or a location (for all threads) to save the result file.

Troubleshooting

If the photo attachments of iMessages are not saved in the generated PDF file, the possible reasons are:

1. The options in the preferences are not checked

   Open the preferences window, and navigate to "Messages".

   Under the section "PDF Output Settings", check option:

   • Include images in output PDF file

   then, check two advanced options

   • HEIC format
   • WebP format

   to save heic images and webp images into the generated PDF file.

   

2. The photos were not synced locally on the iPhone before the backup was created, especially when iCloud syncing is enabled.